Private Double Beds Are Coming to Business Class

Qatar Airways announced an industry first at a travel trade show in Berlin on Tuesday: 79-inch lie-flat double beds in its newly reconfigured business class cabins.

Dubbed the Q Suite, Qatar’s new business class cabin will feature a 1-2-1 layout with some middle seats designed to be converted into quad-rooms, allowing four people to face each other by lowering privacy walls. With the new quad feature, families of four will be able to face one another, and business executives can conduct meetings in the sky.

Courtesy of Qatar Airways

The forward-facing middle seats in the new layout will also have the option of being turned into a double bed by lowering a dividing wall between the seats. The airline says it has patented the new quad configuration and double bed seats, meaning you may not see similar offerings on other airlines anytime soon.

The rollout is expected to begin as early as this June on the airline’s reconfigured 777s, A350s, and A380s. The Q Suite will first appear on flights between Doha and London, with a new plane being refitted each month. By late summer, the new business class will debut on flights operated between Doha and Paris, and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The airline’s reconfigured 777s will feature 42 business class seats, while its A350s will have 36 business class seats. The "first in business class" cabin is intended to be the only premiere cabin on those flights—Qatar will offer first class service only on its A380s.

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the state of Qatar, is already considered an innovation leader in the premiere cabin space, and was recognized by Skytrax for having the World’s Best Business Class in 2016. It is also the only Gulf carrier that belongs to an airline alliance program, having joined Oneworld in 2013.